POST-GAME: A work of Stu-art

LOS ANGELES, CA – There are the Picassos, the Monets, and the Van Goghs of the NHL world. Two of the greatest artists in the game – Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl – have shared the same studio that is the Oilers' dressing room for the past nine seasons together, but there's always been room for more contributors to add to the Blue & Orange collection.

On Sunday, Edmonton’s Game 4 victory at Crypto.com Arena wouldn't have been possible without the up-and-coming artistry of Stuart Skinner in the blue paint, who painted a perfect night for the Oilers to pick up his first-career playoff shutout with 33 saves and put the Kings’ on the brink of elimination.

“I thought he was unbelievable,” defenceman Mattias Ekholm said. “I think he has shown that he's taken steps as a goaltender as well. I think he's way calmer. I think he's positionally very sound and you have to make a really good play to beat him right now, which is a great feeling for us knowing that he's the backbone of our team.”

Skinner wasn’t given the painter’s cap and brush that come as a package deal as one of the two post-game awards the Oilers give out after wins – those went to Evan Bouchard painting the back of LA’s net with a power-play blast in the second period that marked the only goal of Edmonton’s narrow victory.

Ultimately, Bouchard's blast would end up being the only goal they needed in a 1-0 victory to take a 3-1 series advantage, but it was all thanks to the ingenuity of Skinner, who earned the post-game plunger award for getting his side out of the messy situation that was Game 4 after stamping out everything the Kings could muster over their best performance of the series.

"Stuart was very solid. That's an understatement of how well he played," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said.

The seemingly unshakable confidence that Skinner displayed on Sunday brought the entire group's defensive effort up in hopes of helping out their netminder on a night when they were only able to register 13 shots. They quickly realized during a hot start to Game 5 by the Kings that their goaltender was on his game, and if they were able to find a breakthrough, he'd be ready to hold down the fort.

But he wouldn't have to do it alone.

"Whether it's a forward, a defenseman or goalie, you always want to play with guys who are giving off confidence and the goaltending position is the most important," Knoblauch said. "If the team sees the goaltender nervous, upset or just not focused, it can resonate through the entire team. With Stu, he's been rock solid the whole time I've been here and there haven't been very many games where he hasn't been good or really good.

"Anytime that he's had an off game, he's taken ownership and he's always responded and played well very quickly, so he gives the team a lot of confidence."

With that confidence inspired by Skinner, the Oilers heroically defended their 1-0 lead alongside their netminder to seal his first-career playoff shutout by blocking shots, killing off their only penalty in the third period and stopping the Kings from gaining any traction with their net empty.

"I thought our guys did a good job defending," Knoblauch said. "I know they had a lot of shots, but I think a lot of them were from the perimetre. He did make a lot of key saves for us and his game was really good, and I don't think anyone questioned if he was ever going to make the next save."

Over Games 3 & 4 in Los Angeles, Skinner stopped 60 of 61 shots for a .984 save percentage, providing more than what the Oilers would've hoped from their netminder considering they scored 17 goals against Kings' goaltender Cam Talbot in the opening three games. David Rittich was strong despite only facing 13 shots, but he was no match for Edmonton's man between the pipes.

Skinner's efforts came after he conceded nine goals on 63 shots in Games 1 & 2 at Rogers Place – partly due to some bad bounces, but Skinner still demanded more from himself. That ability to respond from bad games has been recognized by his teammates, and it's all part of the growth process for Skinner in learning how to manage the responsibility of being the Oilers' starting goaltender.

"He's been great for us," Ekholm said. "I think he's showing it game in and game out, and as any goaltender will, they're going to have an off night. But I think his biggest strength is the way he rebounds after those nights, and that in my opinion is a sign of a really good goaltender. You can't always control 82 games and playoffs and be on the top of your game every night, but you can always control how you rebound and how you respond in those games, and I think that's the strength of his."

Skinner has experienced a lot of growth since becoming a professional, going through a lot of growing pains in the ECHL alongside Vincent Desharnais before getting his first AHL playoff opportunity with Bakersfield in the same season, saying at the time he was grateful just to get the opportunity to compete alongside his teammates and say that he plays professional hockey for a living.

Last season, Skinner was a Calder Trophy candidate for the NHL's best rookie, and even rose above the experience of having his stick break in Game 6 of last year's first-round triumph over the Kings.

Flash forward to today, and the 25-year-old has firmly become 'the guy' for the Blue & Orange in the blue paint thanks to the experiences over the seasons that have helped guide him to this moment – being the starting goaltender for his hometown team in a run to the Stanley Cup.

And he's only concerned about improving on his already impressive acumen as one of the League's best goaltenders.

"Yeah, I've changed a lot," he said. "That's from going through all the experiences that I've been able to go through the past year, and when you use those things to learn and grow as a person, as a teammate and as a player, you know you're gonna keep getting better and I think that's what I'm just gonna keep doing."